Nearly half a million people in Gaza – 22 per cent of the population – are still suffering from catastrophic hunger, according to a UN-backed report presented on Tuesday.
The risk of famine still hangs heavy over the Gaza Strip, and the situation in Rafah in southern Gaza is also feared to deteriorate.
"WFP (World Food Programme) fears that southern Gaza will soon also see the same catastrophic levels of hunger as previously in the northern areas", the ICP report states.
The war between Israel and Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist organisation in Gaza, has been ongoing for over eight months after Hamas's attack on Israel on 7 October. The fighting has led to severe humanitarian conditions in Gaza. There have been repeated warnings of hunger and famine in the isolated Gaza Strip.
The UN-backed IPC (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification) is globally responsible for reporting on hunger and famine.